


Hold Me in Your Arms

by Bubblelina15



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Break Up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:42:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23771020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubblelina15/pseuds/Bubblelina15
Summary: Before their break-up, Ricky could go to Nini for everything.  When his parents tell him about their divorce, Ricky no longer has Nini's arms to return to.  Will he find his way "home" again?
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Hold Me in Your Arms

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! this is the first work im posting on ao3, and i hope you enjoy! it's just under 1k words. <3

“Ricky, your father and I are getting a divorce.”

His mother’s voice rang in his ears, as Ricky felt like the floor was crumbling out from underneath him. He couldn’t think, he barely knew what to say. There was a part of him that knew this was coming: his mother kept postponing coming back from Chicago for months and there were days his dad wouldn’t even tolerate the mention of her name. But, he always had hope. And that hope had flown away, almost in a split second.

“I, I have to go,” Ricky pulled away from his mother’s embrace, something he had been counting down to since he knew his mother was coming home. Now it just felt like a suffocating hold through his middle, and he needed to get out of there. Out of his house. He needed to breathe.

He pulled open the door.

“But, Ricky-” “Son!” His parents protested. 

Ricky ignored them and continued out of the house, only stopping to say, “Sorry, important rehearsal today. Don’t wait up.”

He hopped on his skateboard and headed towards school. The only thoughts running through his head was Nini and how much he needed to see her right now. She was always the only one who could make things better.

Ricky blindly ran into the school, his mind still laser-focused on seeing Nini and he burst into the practice room, “Sorry, I’m late!”

“Ricky, you know my rules about tardiness. Now, come up here so we can get to work,” Miss Jenn chastised. He hopped up on stage next to Nini.

The second he saw her, reality came crashing in on him. They were broken up. Like his parents. His heart sank deeper into his chest. 

But, he always went to Nini for everything. Maybe their childhood friendship could withstand whatever awkward transition period their relationship was going through.

Fuck it. He was going to say something. 

“Hey, could I borrow a pencil?” Ricky murmured to her. He made a point to really look at her. He wanted her to know he needed her right now, even if he couldn’t say it. He willed for her to notice.

A flicker of recognition crossed her eyes for a split second before Miss Jenn interrupted, and Nini turned away to face the annoyed director.

“No, Ricky. You cannot borrow a pencil. All of you need to come prepared. You are all dismissed, and I expect you to come back when you are all ready to work!”

The cast began packing up, and Ricky tried to muster up the courage to actually speak to Nini, and tell her what was wrong when he felt Miss Jenn’s hand on his arm. “Mr. Bowen, can I see you in my office please?”

He nodded, and tried to blink back the tears threatening to come out. His parents were getting divorced and he was getting in trouble in a place he had been going to escape. It was the worst day ever.

Ricky sat on the couch and pulled one of the cushions towards him. He settled it on his lap and pulled it close to his chest, and suddenly everything came out. He couldn’t help himself.

After divulging to Miss Jenn about his parent’s divorce, she went on a tangent about her life story. Ricky’s mind wandered back to Nini, feeling the pillow’s light weight in his arms. But, it couldn’t bring the easy comfort and familiarity of holding Nini in his arms. And how she would let him hold her, or would hold him without ever having to say what was wrong. She just always knew.

~flashback~  
"This just isn't working!" 

Ricky could hear his parents yelling in the kitchen. He threw his covers off and grabbed his skateboard, quietly making his way through the hall and out the front door.

The fights were becoming more frequent now, and he was at his breaking point. 

Thank God for Nini. He didn't know what he would do without her. They had been friends for so long that they could have conversations wordlessly. And when they began dating, the transition was easy as they'd been acting the part for so long. 

Ricky kicked the ground to speed up, settling his foot back on the board. The quicker he could see her the better. 

Nini rolled over in her bed, trying to sleep, when she heard a sudden rustle by her bedroom window. She leaned over to flick her lamp on and squinted as her eyes readjusted to the light.

“Ricky?” she clambered over the side of her bed to open the window to let him in. “What are-” The words died on her lips as she took in the look on his face and instead led him to her bed.

Ricky was hurting, and that's all she needed to know. 

They crawled under the covers, and he immediately put his arms around her, burrowing his head in her hair. Nini could feel the tears starting to fall, dropping on her head. She just linked her arms around his waist tighter and just held him so he would know she was there. 

It was what he needed, and she always knew what he needed.

She was home.

~present day~  
“Ricky?” He snapped out of the memory to Miss Jenn looking at him with a concerned look on her face. “Ricky, I think you need to go home and talk to your parents. It’ll be hard, but they love you. Always know that.”

“Right, yeah,” he nodded, putting the pillow aside and bolted out of her office and out the double doors of the school.

He went back on his skateboard and headed towards Red’s, fighting the urge to turn towards Nini’s. 

One day he'd fix this.

Little did he know, he'd find his way home sooner than he thought.


End file.
